Category: English as a Second Language

Are adjectives causing you aggravation? Are you unsure of the difference between adjectives and adverbs? Perhaps you are asking yourself “What is an adjective?” Whatever the case, this article will help you make sense of these descriptive words.

When it comes to constructing a sentence, the verb is widely considered to be one of the most integral elements. In the simplest of definitions, a verb is an action. Drink, walk, talk, drive, and dive are all verbs. But as with everything English, it can't possibly be this easy, can it?

Put simply, an article is a word that combines with a noun. Articles are actually adjectives because they describe the nouns that they precede. In English, there are only three articles: the, a, and an.

The adverb belongs to a large class of words that add information by qualifying or modifying a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a preposition, or a clause, indeed anything except nouns and pronouns (which are modified by adjectives). Confused? Don't be! After we provide some examples of adverbs, you will have a much better understanding of this mystifying modifier.

An appositive is a noun or a pronoun (often with modifiers) that is beside another noun or pronoun, usually with the purpose of explaining or modifying. Now don’t get nervous—we'll help you figure this out.

Plagiarism is one of the most serious offenses within the literary, academic, and professional world. The act of plagiarism violates both academic and professional integrity, and often comes with very serious consequences for any individual caught doing it.

The English word “noun” comes from the Latin nomen, meaning “name.” We use nouns to name something, that is, a person, animal, object, place, action, or abstract idea, such as an event or quality (boy, koala, block, farm, invasion, or kindness). Nouns can be defined more precisely by the other words that go with them. In particular, nouns often have the definite article "the" in front of them.

Prepositions: ESL writers are endlessly frustrated by these small but significant words, and it’s no wonder—there are more of them in English than in any other language! But don’t give up your writing ambitions just yet; our ESL editing and proofreading experts are here to help.